Health MinutesAustralian researchers have challenged the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure. They argue that people are too obsessed with the level of a person's blood pressure in deciding whether or not they need treatment.

Health MinutesOnce it was thought that the Type A personality was a culprit in the development of hypertension: the driven, aggressive, high paced, high achiever. But that theory has fallen apart over the last few years. However there may be aspects of Type A behaviour that matter.

Health MinutesThere is some evidence that reducing salt in the diet lowers high blood pressure. But the jury is still out as to whether advising people to reduce salt saves lives or prevents heart attacks and strokes.

Health MinutesThere's a dilemma facing the government when it comes to rules for letting doctors prescribe drugs to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Research shows there's no magic line between 'normal' and 'high' levels, that can tell you who should get those drugs. Instead, your risk depends on a complex mixture of factors.

Health MinutesMen with high blood pressure are often concerned about taking medication because they're worried the drugs could affect their libido or sexual performance. A recent study, though, suggests that it could be the high blood pressure itself that's the problem.

Health MinutesMore people than previously estimated will develop high blood pressure, or hypertension. Nine out of ten people who live into their eighties will have it. The message is keep your blood pressure down.

Health MinutesResearch from Adelaide suggests that high blood pressure in pregnancy is commoner in women with shorter relationships than longer ones - and pre-eclampsia is commoner when sperm have come from a donor.